Towards high-performance additive of Ti3C2/graphene hybrid with a novel wrapping structure in epoxy coating

Abstract In spite of graphene and Ti3C2 MXene sheets with various significant properties and function, the performance characteristics of their hybrid in organic coating have been rarely discussed. Herein, the Ti3C2/graphene hybrid (M-G) with wrapping structure was successfully prepared and as filler was added into epoxy coating (MG-EP). Their tribological performance against Al2O3 and Si3N4 balls under dry sliding and 3.5 wt % NaCl solution was evaluated in detail and the anti-wear mechanism was studied via surface/interface analysis techniques. Results show that the wrapping structure of M-G hybrid can obviously decrease the wear rate of composite coating by 81–88%, with pure epoxy coating as a comparison. Moreover, the composite coating can retain good anticorrosion properties in corrosive medium during friction test, because its integrity still hinders the diffusion of corrosive media. The improving performance of composite coating mainly depends on: (a) the excellent lubrication and thermal conductivity of graphene and Ti3C2; (b) the synergistic effect of Ti3C2/graphene hybrid with wrapping structure; (c) the formation of protective film on the dual surface. The Ti3C2/graphene hybrid greatly enhances the tribological and anti-corrosive properties of organic coating, which provides a new thinking for the design and application of novel high-performance additive.